


The Day The Whole World Went Away

by MaliceManaged



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Delusions, F/M, Horror, Isolation, It's Not Paranoia If They're Really Out To Get You, Paranoia, wouldn't be one of mine if it didn't have any
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-26
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2021-01-13 17:07:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21183029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaliceManaged/pseuds/MaliceManaged
Summary: There may come a time when one has to ask oneself what is worse: Losing your mind, or learning that it is not, in fact, all in your head...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was gonna be a oneshot, but then I changed my mind and decided it worked better as a five-part thingy. I dunno, it made sense at the time. I was originally going to post this starting on Sunday through to Halloween, but then I got a better idea and actually managed to finish it in a few days, so I'm starting this one now and you get two Halloween-y fics instead! Yayyy! Appreciate me, dammit! XD

Nell walked down the street with purpose in her steps, her hand – tanned a darker brown than usual from her frequent exposure to the sun – clutched a somewhat faded map, and her brown hazel eyes searched almost frantically, looking for her travelling companion. Even after eight months of knowing him, she tended to leave him be quite a bit; it wasn’t that she didn’t like him, he just… made her a little nervous sometimes, and she couldn’t fully explain why. He seemed to prefer his own company most times, anyway, so it worked out for the best. But she definitely had to find him  _ now, _ given what she had to tell him. And so Nell wove her way through empty cars and even emptier shops, trying not to let the silence other than her own breathing and footfalls creep her out too much. She really hated this city.

It had been exactly one year, six months, and twelve days since everyone disappeared. There was no war, no great catastrophe. No warning at all, in fact. She had simply woken up one day, and everyone was gone without a trace. It had taken her two weeks to fully realise it, and two days to pull herself together and keep going after the fact. By the time she’d met Loki, she hadn’t quite believed he was real, having gotten rather used to her mind making up company in its attempt to keep her from completely falling apart. It had been his rudeness to her that convinced her, as the people she made up were a lot nicer to her. It had in turn been her telling him to go fuck himself with a cactus that convinced  _ him _ that she was just as real; his hallucinations were rarely friendly, but he definitely never would have thought of  _ that _ particular turn of phrase for them to say.

In the absence of anyone else, they’d decided to stick together, ostensibly to have a better chance of figuring out what had happened – he had several theories he had yet to feel like sharing – but really they had just been tired of being alone. They would never actually  _ say _ so, him especially, but deep down they knew it was the truth. Neither of them did very well with loneliness, they quite quickly figured out, and so the occasional awkwardness of figuring out how to work together, or at least around each other, was well worth it.

Nell wandered into a posh little boutique she had seen him investigating before; she heard a sound up ahead towards the dressing area and went towards it, her excitement making her forget to call out ahead. Something she immediately regretted when she got there. For she had expected to find her companion reading, or else muttering to himself as he tried to get his strange communications device (at least, that’s what he claimed it was) to work. Which was what he was usually doing when she went looking for him whenever they parted ways for long whiles.

She did not, however, expect to walk in on him masturbating.

It took her a second to really register what she was seeing, but as soon as it did she whirled around, shutting her eyes tightly as though that would erase the image from her brain. “Oh, my god!” she cried out, feeling her face burn with embarrassment, while behind her Loki hissed something in a language she couldn’t understand but was fairly certain was not in any way wholesome, “I am so sorry!”

“What do you want, Román?” Loki bit out as he hastily righted his clothes. Of all the bloody times…

“I, uhm,” she cleared her throat to try and bring it back down to its usual pitch, and waved the map in her hand to bring it to his attention, “I think I found a spot.”

“And that could not have waited?” he asked as he stood.

“Hey,  _ you _ said to tell you immediately!” she retorted indignantly, half turning but keeping her eyes  _ firmly _ closed. She did not need to see that again, thank you very much.

Loki bit back a retort, knowing she was right, he  _ had _ told her that. Of course, he’d gotten used to her calling out before approaching him, else he would’ve ceased his… activity… before she got there. It wasn’t even something he did that often; what were the odds she’d forget to give notice of her approach one of the rare moments he did? Still, he felt it was ultimately his fault, and so he let the subject drop, hoping she’d do the same. He walked up to her and took the map from her hands, prompting her to open her eyes again, and went over to the register counter, unfolding the map on it.

“Where?” he asked as she joined him, keeping some distance between them and still red-faced.

“Uhm…” she raised her hand and jabbed a finger onto a spot on the map, immediately stepping back as soon as she did, “Right there.”

Loki looked at the map then her, raising an eyebrow; not that she could tell, as she was pointedly not looking at his face. “Is this going to be a problem?”

“Nope! No problem at all!” she replied entirely too fast and wholly unconvincingly.

“For Norns’ sakes, woman; you act as though it is the first time you have ever seen a cock!” he said with a roll of his eyes, still feeling rather embarrassed about the whole thing. At her deepening blush, he blinked in realisation. “… Oh.”

Well, then. Add  _ that _ to the ever-dwindling list of things he hadn’t yet known about her.

Clearing his throat somewhat awkwardly, he turned back to the map, examining it maybe a bit more closely than he needed to, given he knew it as well as she did. He studied the spider web of markings they had both added to it, detailing places they’d fully explored and ones they’d yet to get to, and drew his finger over one line in particular that led to the spot she’d pointed to. “Yes, that might be something,” he concluded half to himself, “I doubt it will be enough, but it might be  _ something.” _

“Well, let’s not get  _ too _ optimistic,” she muttered sarcastically, making his lips twitch up into a small half smile she couldn’t see.

“Optimism sets one up for failure,” he said as he folded up the map again, “I prefer to be realistic, and our luck has not exactly proven very good, has it?”

She huffed in response, folding her arms over her chest. “Well, keep it to yourself. Some of us actually  _ like _ hope.”

He chuckled as he turned and gave her the map. “Why do you think I keep you around?” he teased, “Certainly not your culinary skills.”

“Oh, fuck all the way off!” she retorted, smacking him with the map as they began making their way outside, earning a laugh.

They returned to the café she’d been at when she’d made her little discovery to get her things, then began the trek to their destination, which was several miles away. It was a school, overgrown as the rest of the city, which in Nell’s opinion just made it look even creepier, but Loki was as unaffected as ever, pushing the locked gates open with no effort whatsoever and casually reminding her of just how strong he was. She was very glad he was on her side. He went inside the building proper first, as always, a dagger in hand as she followed with her crossbow at the ready, the short sword he’d given her shortly after their meeting strapped to her side. They had yet to meet any real threats (save for that  _ one _ bear a while back she still wasn’t sure where it had come from, but that was another story), but it never hurt to be cautious, he insisted. She was pretty sure he was crossing the line to ‘paranoid’, but she wasn’t about to tell  _ him _ that.

The deeper they went the less light filtered in from outside, making it harder for her to see, which made her uneasy and in turn move to keep closer to Loki, who didn’t share the disadvantage. They wound their way through the halls, no sound but their footsteps echoing around them, though even she could tell the place wasn’t as empty as it seemed, which unnerved her and gave her hope in equal measure. Following his senses, Loki led them into what turned out to be the gym, the only bit of light in the room coming from a hole in the ceiling, which was  _ just _ enough for Nell to sort of make out most of the room save for the farthest walls.

He went straight to the centre of the room, gathering his seidr in one hand and crouching down to the floor. He reached out towards the floor, causing it to ripple with the clashing of his energy with the pocket of it already present, and in turn making visible to Nell what he already saw. The energy flared bright, resisting his attempt to pull it out of the ground it had latched onto, causing Nell to gasp in fright and raise her crossbow, letting loose a bolt towards the wall beside him. He looked over to see what had scared her, not letting go of the energy, but saw nothing of note and looked back to her confusedly.

“Th-there was… there was something there,” she explained shakily, looking between him and the empty spot of wall where she could just make out her bolt.

“What?”

“I don’t know, a shadow,  _ something! _ There was something, I swear!” she insisted.

He raised his free hand placatingly. “Alright, Nell, I believe you.” He looked back to the wall. “Whatever it was appears to be gone,” he reasoned then turned back to his task, “Let us not wait for it to return, yes?”

As he coaxed the bundle of energy to come with him, she kept her eyes on their surroundings, quickly reloading and keeping a finger on the trigger. Finally, he succeeded with no further incidents, and they wasted no time in leaving the room. The energy held in his hand had the bonus effect of acting like a light source, which went a long way towards easing Nell’s nerves, though she didn’t fully relax until they were back outside. Once there, he settled onto a spot of open space, setting his pack on the floor beside him and putting his dagger away. Nell sat down a bit away to give him room, setting her crossbow aside and pulling a granola bar and bottle of water out of her pack, knowing they might be there a while as he worked. He used the energy in combination with his seidr to draw several runes on the floor before him, uttering the words to the spell under his breath; once that was done, he pulled the communication device from his pack and set it in the centre of the sigil, weaving the spell over it carefully.

She couldn’t help leaning towards him a bit as he finished casting, looking at the device hopefully. It let out a humming sort of sound before blaring to life suddenly, lighting up a display hovering above it with letters she assumed where whatever language was native to Asgard, then just as quickly went dark again. Loki swore to himself and she fell back with a sigh.

“I thought as much,” he said irritably, then looked towards her, frowning at how disheartened she looked. He stood and went over to her, sitting down beside her. “I am sure we will find a good enough deposit soon.”

She looked up at him with a small tentative smile. “You don’t actually believe that, do you?”

He sighed and looked down. “No,” he admitted after a moment, then looked back to her, “But  _ you _ should.” He nudged her with his shoulder, a smirk playing at his lips. “One of us has to be the annoying optimist, after all.”

She scoffed. “Prick.”

“You adore me,” he teased, nudging her again and earning a laugh. After a while he turned to her again. “I am… sorry… about earlier.”

She looked up at him confusedly. “What about earlier?”

“At the shop,” he clarified.

Her eyes widened a bit at the reminder and she looked away, feeling her face heat up. “It’s fine; it was my fault, I should’ve let you know I was coming,” she dismissed with a haphazard wave of her hand. “Though, maybe next time consider doing that somewhere with a door. That locks.”

“Duly noted,” he laughed. He stood and offered her a hand up. “We should find shelter; it is getting late.”

She looked at the sky, where sure enough the sun was after beginning to set, then took the offered hand and stood. Grabbing their things, they made their way to the nearest house where they could camp for the night. As she settled into the bed she’d claimed, Nell thought back to what she had seen back at the school. She wasn’t sure if Loki believed her; or least believed there had actually been anything there, and not that she had spooked herself. Though, truth be told, she wasn’t sure  _ she _ believed it anymore. Maybe she had just thought she’d seen something. It wouldn’t exactly be the first time, for either of them. She couldn’t be sure of anything when it came down to it. But if she  _ had _ seen something, who’s to say it had actually left? Or what if it had followed them?

She glanced towards the corner and leap up with a quickly stifled cry, having seen… nothing. Nell picked up the torch she had placed on the bedside table and shined it on the corner, but it remained completely empty.

“Bravo, Marianella,” she chastised herself quietly, sure she had simply worked herself up into a hallucination again.

She turned the torch off and sat on the bed, rubbing her face with her hands with a sigh. She settled back down and tried to sleep, but the feeling she was being watched wouldn’t go away. With a sigh, she got up and made her way to the other room. She knocked on the door, not wanting to walk in on anything again, then poked her head into the room when Loki called for her to come in, finding him with a book on his lap as he sat with his back against the headboard of the bed.

“Something wrong?”

“I can’t sleep.”

“Something to do with what happened at the school?”

She winced a bit, feeling ridiculous about it now. “Yeah.”

He sighed softly, though not in annoyance like she’d half expected, then patted the empty space beside him. “Come, then.”

She stepped inside the room then chewed on her bottom lip. “Sure? I don’t wanna bother-”

“Marianella,” he interrupted firmly, “Just come and lie down already. I will not deal with you being sleep deprived tomorrow.”

She hesitated for another moment before going over and lying down, turning onto her side facing away from him. Knowing he was nearby had the desired effect and she finally managed to fall asleep before long. After a while, he blew out the candle he’d been reading by and settled down as well, though his running thoughts kept him awake for a long while.

For he wasn’t entirely sure Nell had only imagined whatever it was she had seen…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you'd like to be amused at my expense, you might like to know that this story, in particular all of this chapter, was inspired by a dream I had. Yeah; even _that_ bit. My mind likes to troll me, what can I say. XD


	2. Chapter 2

_ Nell wasn’t sure what woke her; whether it was her alarm clock blaring in her ear (likely courtesy of her older brother), or her mother shouting her name from the kitchen loud enough for the whole street to hear – but wake she did. Spluttering and spitting out the locks of her thick, brown mane of hair that she’d managed to almost swallow in her sleep, she pulled herself up and made her way to the bathroom in the hall, _ almost _ making it before her younger brother pushed past her and shut the door in her face. _

_ “Oh, for- Carlos!” she groused, kicking the door in irritation. _

_ “Ours is free, beba,” her father said as he passed behind her, struggling with his tie. _

_ Nell glared at the door one last time then made her way into her parents’ bedroom, going to their bathroom to rush through her morning routine, half running back to her room wrapped in a towel and grabbing the first clothes her hands found from her closet and dresser. She had to dodge her younger sister on her way downstairs, who was running from her and her twin’s room to their parents’ saying something about a lost hairclip. As she walked into the kitchen to get her breakfast, Nell smacked her older brother on the back of the head, earning a half-hearted complaint from him and an admonition from their mother. _

_ “I wouldn’t if he’d stop putting the clock on my pillow,” Nell defended as she grabbed her plate and sat down at the table. _

_ “I’ll stop the day you actually wake up on time,” her brother replied, flicking a piece of toast at her, causing her to swing a kick at his leg under the table that missed by a few inches as he pulled it under his chair. _

_ “Enough! Both of you,” their mother scolded, rushing out of the kitchen to help her other daughter find whatever she was shouting down the stairs about. _

_ Nell stuck her tongue out at her brother, who flipped her off, only to get a slap to the shoulder from their father. _

_ “Don’t flip your sister off at the table, Dan,” he scolded before grabbing his plate and cup of coffee and joining them. _

_ “She started it.” _

_ “Did not.” _

_ “Did too.” _

_ “What are you, five?” their father interrupted before they could continue, “Come on, Nella, eat; you’re gonna be late for school.” _

_ “You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Nell joked, causing Dan to snort and their father to roll his eyes. _

_ By the time Nell’s mother corralled the twins downstairs, Dan had finished eating and bid them all a quick goodbye before leaving for work. Her father was next, blowing kisses to the room in general on his way, after which her mother hurried the rest of them to finish eating lest they be late. With breakfast finally done, Nell and the twins bid their mother goodbye then left to walk to school, a hand each in one of Nell’s. _

****

There was a damp spot on her pillow when she woke.

She pretended not to notice.

She went to get up but found she couldn’t, and it took her a moment to realise it was due to the arm wrapped around her middle; she looked over her shoulder, but Loki seemed to still be asleep. Nell was debating whether to try to wake him or not, wondering how she’d slept through him turning over, much less touching her, given how light a sleeper she tended to be, when his breathing changed and he began to wake up. He froze momentarily as he realised what he’d done while they slept before pulling his arm back and sitting up.

“Morning,” Nell spoke up after a moment, sitting up as well.

He hummed in response. “It may be time to move on,” he said as he stood, “I doubt we will continue to find much of use in this city.”

“Right.” She certainly wasn’t about to disagree; she’d had more than enough of the place.

After a brief detour to the bathroom for a quick shower and change of clothes, they met in the kitchen for breakfast then left the house. They walked until they found a motorcycle in working condition, where she learned that Loki in fact knew how to drive it. Stopping to fill a few canisters with gas for the road, as well as stocking up on food and water; they drove out of the city, heading east, wherever that would lead them. They stopped by the side of the road hours later when the sun was high in the sky, seeking shade under some trees and having some lunch.

Feeling eyes on her, Nell looked up to find Loki examining her closely, prompting a puzzled expression. “What?”

“You have been quiet today.”

“And?” He merely raised an eyebrow and she looked away. “Bad dream.”

“Was it that; or an unwanted reminder?”

“… Yes.”

“Tell me?”

She was quiet for a moment. “You know; I have three siblings, a sister and two brothers.” She looked back at him and he returned her gaze attentively. “I wasn’t supposed to. My parents wanted three kids, but I guess my little sister decided she didn’t want to come into the world alone.”

“I can imagine your mother was not overly amused by that,” he joked, earning a soft laugh.

“They drive her crazy, fighting like cats and dogs one moment, inseparable the next. They can be so annoying.” Her smile fell. “They _ could _ be.”

Loki stood and went over to her, sitting back down beside her and placing a hand on her knee. “We do not know that they are gone, Nell.”

“We don’t know that they aren’t, either,” she countered, looking down at the ground before her.

“No, we do not, but what good does it do to dwell on it? We do not know, and until we do it is counterproductive to let either possibility stop us going forward.”

She looked back up at him. “What about you? Any family?”

His face went blank and he sat up straight, taking his hand back from her knee. “No,” he replied evenly.

She shifted uncomfortably and looked away. “Sorry,” she murmured.

He frowned then took a deep breath, looking down at his hands. “… None that want me,” he said at length.

“… Oh. That sucks.”

“It hardly matters,” he shrugged then stood, “We should keep moving while there is daylight.”

“Okay,” she replied, electing not to push, taking his offered hand to stand up and climbing behind him on the bike. “Do we know where we’re going yet?”

“Not it the slightest,” Loki confessed, looking over his shoulder at her to ensure she was settled before starting up the engine.

“Fair enough.” It wasn’t as though it really mattered much, she figured.

They rode on until nightfall, where they stopped at a tiny roadside diner that looked as though it had been abandoned long before the Disappearance. After making sure it was safe, Loki waved her in; it wasn’t the most comfortable of places, but it was better than being outside exposed to the elements, and so they ate their dinner and settled down to sleep.

Or at least, that was the plan. Except that Nell couldn’t seem to sleep. She shivered a bit and put it down to the fact that she was cold. She turned onto her back and looked over at Loki a couple feet away, sleeping seemingly completely unbothered. She thought for a moment, remembering that morning, and decided to try something. Slowly and as quietly as she could, she began to inch closer to him, freezing when he moved a bit, but he was only shifting a bit and did not wake. As soon as she was close enough to brush his arm, he turned onto his side facing her and reached out, pulling her close and burying his face in her hair, letting out a content sounding sigh. She was a bit stunned for a moment, despite that having been her intention, then relaxed and settled herself against him, the added warmth soon helping her drift off.

It was close to dawn when she woke again, pulled out of her slumber by an uneasy feeling running along her spine, and for a moment she wasn’t sure if she wanted to open her eyes. Slowly, very reluctantly, she did, only for them to fall wide open and her breathing sped up with fear. There sitting on the chair resting against the far wall was a shadowed figure, a semblance of a person, for it was not defined enough for her to call it much more. She intended to wake Loki, but found she couldn’t really move, causing her breathing to become even more erratic as her fear mounted. The figure made no move, even as a whimper caught in her throat, simply sat there facing her.

She finally managed to move one of her fingers – barely, but enough to give her a shred of hope – and only then did the shadow move, turning its head towards her hand and leaning forward. The sheer terror she felt at that, and at whatever else it might do, gave her back enough control of herself to squeeze her eyes shut and let out a scream that startled Loki awake and half upright, seidr gathered in his hand.

Finding nothing amiss, he released the seidr and instead turned to his clearly terrified companion, who was trembling badly, eyes still closed tight. “Nell?” He risked placing a hand on her shoulder and she cried out. “What is it? What is wrong?”

The confusion in his voice made her open her eyes. How in the world could he not see that –

There was nothing.

She shot upright and looked around, but the shadow was gone, as if it had never been there at all. “But…” she managed just barely above a whisper, eyes going back to the chair before her. “There…”

“What did you see?”

“There…” she looked back at him frantically, pointing at the empty chair, “There was…”

He took her face in his hands. “Breathe,” he instructed gently, waiting until she had taken a few deep breaths to ask again, “Now; what was it?”

“Th-there was a shadow, sitting there, watching me,” she said shakily, tears gathering in her eyes before she let out a sob, “I couldn’t- I couldn’t move. I couldn’t move.”

He pulled her to him and she buried her face in his chest. “It’s alright. It is gone now,” he soothed, rubbing her back and eyeing the empty chair warily.

He continued to hold her as she cried, murmuring reassurances and dearly hoping he was doing it right; comforting never did come too naturally to him, much less after the events of the past few years. She did eventually calm down, though, so he supposed he did a good enough job, as awkward as he felt. Ordinarily they would have breakfast before moving on, but he figured it would be best to get her out of the place as soon as possible, and so they got back to the bike and rode away for a good few miles before stopping to eat. Given that she was much calmer by then, he knew he’d made the right decision.

“Are you gonna ask?” Nell spoke up for the first time since the diner as they packed up to keep moving.

“Are you prepared to speak of it?” At her uncertain expression, he huffed softly. “Then, no.”

“Do you think I’m losing it?”

“Neither of us is fully sane, Nell. How could we be? But, no, I do not.”

“Well, that makes one of us.”

He frowned and decided to try a different approach. “Nell, how long were you alone before we met?”

“Ten months, a week, four days, and six hours,” she replied without hesitation.

He blinked. “Well, that is… disturbingly specific… but it does make my point.” He moved closer and placed a hand on her shoulder. “We are not made to be alone for that long, much less as suddenly as this all happened; there was bound to be a lingering effect or two.” He leaned down so that their eyes were level. “But that does not make what you saw, or its effect on you, any less real.” He straightened then went back to securing their packs on the bike. “And for the record; I am not convinced it was a hallucination.”

“… Is that supposed to be reassuring?”

“It was,” he mounted the bike and looked at her with a slight smile, “If it is an outside force; we stand a better chance of stopping it.”

Nell mulled it over then nodded. “Okay, I admit, that makes me feel lots better.”

The smile widened to a grin and he offered her a hand to help her onto the bike behind him, which she took with a slight laugh. They made good progress, arriving to a town late in the afternoon and breaking for lunch before beginning their exploration. It was, of course, empty of people, but that was to be expected by then, even if they quietly held a tiny bit of hope that one day it would not be the case. Nell managed to find a map before they met up again and they took a moment to examine it, then continued their exploration, hoping to find another deposit of energy Loki could use.

By nightfall their search proved unsuccessful, though Loki had a fairly good idea where to look in the morning, and so they found a house to spend the night in. Nell didn’t even pretend she was going to try to sleep on her own after they’d eaten, which spared Loki from having to be the one to suggest they stick close. So far, the shadow creatures she had seen hadn’t actually caused her any harm, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t. And truth be told, he didn’t mind having her nearby; in fact, he’d slept much better than he had in years the past two nights. Not that he would admit it, but it was very much true. They lay with their backs to each other for a while, discussing their plan for the next day. After she dozed off, he stared off at nothing for a long while then huffed softly; carefully, he turned over and pulled her close, finally managing to fall asleep after a short while.


	3. Chapter 3

_ Loki hadn’t slept much before being on the move again, but that was hardly new. He hadn’t had a proper night’s sleep in… he wasn’t actually sure. Sometime before the failed coronation, most likely, but he tried not to think about that too much; it never led anywhere good. And it hardly helped him in his current situation, besides. Things were complicated enough as it was. _

_ He ducked out of the busy street and into a mostly empty ice-cream shop, breathing out a subtle sigh of relief. How in the Nine the humans managed to tolerate living in such crowded places, he would never understand. If he didn’t need to get something in the city he’d have been long gone, back to the mostly isolated house he’d acquired for himself in the middle of the woods, where the only people he had to see with any regularity were the ones that lived in the town several miles away from which he got his supplies. But he did have a purpose there, and so he took a moment to come down from the sensory overload of the streets, even getting himself a treat for the hell of it, before being back on his way. He thanked whatever force wanted the credit that he had full access to his seidr, or this whole thing would be almost impossible. _

_ Almost, but not quite. He wasn’t called the God of Mischief for nothing. _

_ Still, that didn’t mean he wanted to do things the hard way if he didn’t have to. Where was the fun in that? He changed his Working as he approached his destination, replacing the unnotability for a generic looking face that would require less of his attention to maintain, then slipped in through the doors. Was it terribly bold of him to walk right into his enemy’s den? Yes. But who would expect it? No doubt the Avengers though him dead, in any case, as Thor had likely told them of the events on Svartalfheim. Briefly, Loki wondered what his brother would do if he discovered his survival, before shaking the thought away. Thor would probably finish the job if he found out; he _ had _ said that he would kill him if he betrayed him. And what else would he consider this to be? Because naturally, Loki intended to get _ stabbed in the chest _ just to escape his cell all along; it wasn’t as though there were a thousand saner and much less painful plans he could have come up with. _

_ He swiped a keycard from a passing employee and stepped into the nearest stairwell, mildly surprised there didn’t seem to be any cameras in there. Surely that was a bit of a security risk? Was Stark so arrogant as to believe nobody would attempt to infiltrate his tower? He went up as many flights as he could in that particular stairwell before donning the appearance of the employee whose key he’d stolen and stepping into the hallway. He counted his luck that the employee seemed to be an important one, as nobody questioned what he was doing there; still, he’d served his purpose as he reached the elevator that would lead him up to the floors reserved for the Avengers. Ducking into the closest bathroom – which was thankfully empty – he shed his borrowed appearance in favour of one Steve Rogers, who he knew for a fact was on a stealth mission of some sort, and therefore would not be spotted anywhere else, and made his way into the elevator. He had a brief moment of panic when Stark’s computer servant questioned his unexpected return, but he managed to talk his way out of discovery and begin his ascent. _

_ The computer let him out on Roger’s floor, which was a tad annoying as the floor he was after was further up, but it couldn’t be helped. He went into the soldier’s bedroom to feign the nap he’d claimed he was going to take, falling asleep for real for a while despite himself; he really needed to sleep more. When he woke again with a start, he got up, wove a Working to hide him from the computer’s sensors then ducked back into the stairwell and went up to Thor’s floor. He’d have to be quick; he had made sure his brother was not there, but he didn’t know when he’d be back and he most definitely did not want to be caught there. He almost let out a frustrated groan as he entered Thor’s bedroom; clearly the fact that he was more or less in someone else’s home did nothing for his organization skills, for the room was in as much disarray as his chambers in Asgard. _

_ Resigning himself, Loki began his search, hoping his luck might actually not be terrible for a change and he might actually find what he was looking for. Finally, _ finally, _ his hands closed around the coveted device, when – _

_ “Steve?” Thor spoke up behind him, causing him to freeze, “May I help you find something?” _

_ Loki took a deep breath then straightened and turned around to face his brother, expression blank. There was no way he could lie his way out this one, not with the device in his hands; Rogers would have no reason to know what it even was, let alone to look for it. Thor’s puzzled expression turned unreadable as he eyed the device then Rogers-Loki’s face. _

****

He woke before Nell but couldn’t really convince himself to put some distance between them as he knew he should; he was just too comfortable like that, as bad an idea as it was. It had been entirely too long since he’d been that close to anyone who didn’t want him dead, he wasn’t ready to give it up. She stirred a while later but, though she quickly realised the position they were in, she made no move to get out of it.

“Morning,” she said softly after a moment, and he hummed in response. “Not that I’m not fine here, but are we getting up any time soon?”

He huffed a laugh and unconsciously tightened his hold a bit. “We should.”

“That kind of requires moving,” she said amusedly, resting her hand over his.

“Does it? Interesting…”

“Loki…” she laughed and turned around to face him, “I’m serious.”

His expression turned puzzled. “I thought you were Nell.”

“Oh, my god, why,” she hid her face in his chest and burst out laughing despite herself, causing him to chuckle. She looked back up at him when she calmed down with as serious an expression as she could manage. “That was the worst thing you’ve said in all the time I’ve known you. You should be ashamed of yourself.”

“That, my dear, would require me to have any shame,” he replied with a smirk, earning an eyeroll.

Finally they did get up, not wanting to waste the daylight, and cobbled together a breakfast before continuing their search. Loki’s guess proved quite accurate, though instead of using the energy immediately, he stored it in a ring he’d picked up on their way out of the previous city, making use of the rather gaudy amount of diamonds on it. They marked the spot on the map and moved on, out of that town and to the next, collecting pockets of energy in more rings, which answered Nell’s question of why he’d picked up so many of them at all. It was a good week before they encountered a little hiccup in their mission, as the bike broke down and, seeing as neither of them was in any way a mechanic, they had to abandon it and continue on foot.

“Well, that was fun while it lasted,” Nell lamented as they walked on down the road.

“We will manage.”

“I know, but it still sucks.”

He laughed softly. “It does.”

“So, how much more energy do you think you’ll need, anyway?”

“Not much; another deposit or two should do it.”

“You still haven’t really told me what it’s supposed to do. I mean, what good is a communication device if there’s no one to communicate _ with?” _

“I am not seeking to contact anyone in _ this _ realm, Nell. That is why I need the boost; the signal would have a very long way to travel, more than I can manage on my own.”

“But what if it isn’t just here that everyone’s gone?”

He shook his head. “Whatever it is that has happened here cannot have affected Asgard.”

“Why not?”

“Because it cannot, Nell,” he retorted a bit more sharply than he intended, causing her to flinch slightly.

“Okay. Sorry.”

He stopped walking and sighed. “No, I am sorry. That was uncalled for. The truth is I do not know if what has happened here extends further into the universe, but I pray not, because if it does I have no idea what to do.”

Nell bit her bottom lip for a moment then stepped closer and hugged him, causing him to stiffen for a moment before he relaxed and held her back. “We’ll figure something out,” she said softly, “We have to.”

He was about to reply when a flicker of movement caught his eye and he looked up, tightening his hold on Nell reflexively when he took in the shadowy figures standing a few feet away from them. In the next moment, he twisted to pull Nell behind him and gathered his seidr into his free hand, throwing it at the shadows.

“What? What happened?” Nell asked, peeking around him to see nothing but empty road.

Loki scanned the area around them but they were alone again. “Either I was right after all, or we are now sharing delusions.”

“Oh, shit.” She looked around and let out a gasp as she noticed another shadow behind her, causing him to turn and let loose another blast of seidr at it, which seemed to dissipate it. “What the hell _ are _ those things??”

“I don’t know, but at least it seems they have a vulnerability.”

“We should get out of here.”

“I could not agree more.”

They continued on, both readily armed and on edge, and Loki conjured a floating ball of light to illuminate the road as night fully engulfed them to better see where they stepped. All around them the trees cast shadows on the road that flickered with their light source, giving the illusion that the night itself was alive and surrounding them. The shadow people popped up here and there but the pair didn’t stop moving, taking full advantage of the fact that the creatures simply stood where they were to avoid them, unsure what would happen if they got too close and not wishing to find out.

Loki stopped abruptly, causing Nell to walk into him. “What? Why’d you stop?”

He looked back at her briefly then stared off into the woods to their right, narrowing his eyes. “I sense another energy deposit.”

Nell looked at the pitch dark woods more than a little apprehensively. “You better not be about to suggest we go in _ there.” _ The look on his face was answer enough and she shook her head. “No, no, absolutely not!”

“We are already exposed, Nell; what difference does it make? And we have a light, so you will not be going in blind.” She looked up at him fearfully and he sighed and took her face in his hands. “I will not let any harm befall as long as I breathe, Marianella; I give you my word.”

She hesitated for a moment longer but ultimately nodded, fully trusting him. He gave her a small smile then took her hand and led the way into the trees, commanding the ball of light higher to illuminate as far as it could before them. They couldn’t see the shadow people, but they were well aware _ something _ was watching them as they moved, leaving an uneasy feeling thrumming through them. A faint glow from the ground ahead revealed their prize and Nell sighed softly in relief despite their predicament, not having been looking forward to going much deeper into the woods. Loki, however, became aware of the shadow people suddenly around them that she couldn’t see with her more limited vision, and he noticed they were increasing in number. He counted thirteen so far; despite the fact that they had yet to make a move towards them, he was more than a tad concerned.

A small distressed sound behind him when they reached the energy deposit let him know Nell had finally seen the shadows, but he ignored it in favour of collecting the energy as quickly as he could. He heard Nell fire a bolt at one of the shadows and then a quiet curse as it proved ineffectual, and doubled his efforts, coaxing the stubborn energy out of the ground and into his hand.

“Loki, they’re moving!” Nell cried.

He looked up and, sure enough, two of the shadows were hastening towards them, the others standing dotted around them. He sent a burst of seidr at them but while they dissipated as before, they reformed soon after and resumed their advance, faster than before. He gathered his seidr again but hesitated before letting it loose, suddenly remembering –

_ “Loki, enough!” Thor said as they reached the edge of the building, “You’ve nowhere left to run. Surrender, now!” _

_ “Or what? You will forfeit any mercy?” Loki spat back, “By your words, you have none left for me, remember?” _

_ Thor’s expression flickered. “Loki…” _

_ “Loki…” _

“Loki!!” Nell’s frantic voice cut through, snapping him back to the moment in time to see the shadows were a mere few feet away.

Loki pushed them back, using more force, but they were on their feet and coming at them, running now, in moments. What was more, the other shadows had also begun moving towards them.

“What do we do??”

Loki considered their options; they could try to make a break for it, but they were surrounded and who knew how many shadows were out there. His seidr could push them away, but not destroy them. He wasn’t sure anything could at all. He looked at the energy collected in his other hand, the entire reason they’d gone into the woods. It was more potent than what he was using, plus unlike his it came from this realm. But if he used it, it would deplete it and there were more shadows…

Before he could make a decision either way, Nell let out a shriek, and he turned to see a shadow had reached her and was grabbing her arm. Without thinking, he gathered his seidr and shoved it away. As his hand passed through it, what felt like a dam broke in his mind, and he suddenly remembered everything…


	4. Chapter 4

_ Loki took a deep breath then straightened and turned around to face his brother, expression blank. There was no way he could lie his way out this one, not with the device in his hands; Rogers would have no reason to know what it even was, let alone to look for it. Thor’s puzzled expression turned unreadable as he eyed the device then Rogers-Loki’s face. _

_ “Loki,” Thor said flatly, “You live.” _

_ Loki released the soldier’s appearance and forced out a slight laugh. “You could at least pretend to be happy to see me, brother.” _

_ “How can I be, when you have played me for a fool once again?” Thor retorted, anger beginning to lace his tone. _

_ “Because of course I was supposed to get up from where you left my body to lie and come running back to you like an obedient hound, yes?” Loki fired back. _

_ “I watched you _ die! _ I mourned you! And it was nothing but a lie. Again.” _

_ Loki’s jaw clenched, disappointed at how his brother saw him, even if he was not really surprised. “And that is why I did not tell you.” _

_ He gathered seidr into his hand and used it to twist the space around him, stepping through it and to a rooftop several miles away and wasting no time to begin to run. He knew it wouldn’t be long before Thor came after him. Sure enough, he’d only jumped three more rooftops before his instincts told him to dodge and he threw himself to the side moments before a bolt of lightning struck where he had been. He turned to see Thor land a few feet away, expression furious. Loki scrambled to his feet and backed away, gathering his power and well aware he was reaching his limit, exhausted as he was. _

_ “Loki, enough!” Thor said as they reached the edge of the building, “You’ve nowhere left to run. Surrender, now!” _

_ “Or what? You will forfeit any mercy?” Loki spat back, “By your words, you have none left for me, remember?” _

_ Thor’s expression flickered. “Loki…” _

_ “No, Thor! I am not going back, not while I still breathe,” he snarled. His mask slipped for a moment in his exhaustion, showing the fear beneath. “You don’t understand. He will not just kill me. I can’t go back to that cell. I will not. There is no one left. No one who cares.” _

_ Thor faltered, remembering his words before he’d broken Loki out. ‘Revenge and then this cell’, he had promised. At the time, it hadn’t occurred to him what that meant, with Frigga gone. She wasn’t supposed to have been visiting him, but she had been. No one else. Still, he couldn’t exactly let Loki go, not after everything he had done. He sighed and adjusted his grip on Mjolnir, preparing to advance once more, which Loki noticed, prompting him to gather his power and open another portal. _

_ Nell had been walking down the otherwise empty street, having dropped off her sister at a friend’s house after school, when a wave of static washed over her and a flash of light to her side startled her. Before she could react, a man had stepped out of the flash and walked right into her. The last thing she knew was she was falling and her head felt like it was going to explode. _

_ It hurt, that last jump, sending him away to what he’d thought was an empty street. Too late he realised it was not, as he stepped through and collided with the girl, losing his balance and sending them both tumbling to the ground, the energy of the spell still around him flaring up out of control in his surprise. He was faintly aware of the pain it wracked through him before he lost consciousness. _

****

The shadow fell back and Loki pulled Nell away from it, still reeling from the assault of memories. He let out a burst of seidr all around them to push the rest back and give him more time. He knew what he had to do now, but with the shadows advancing he didn’t know if he could manage it. He knew the truth now of the energy he’d been collecting; it was not, in fact, of the realm: It was his. And it was their only way out of whatever that place was, for it was not Midgard at all.

He grabbed hold of Nell’s hand and pulled her with him in a random direction; it didn’t really matter, they just had to get away from the shadows so he could work. He had enough power now, he felt it, he just needed to pull it into himself and then he could get them out before the shadows got to them. Nell didn’t seem to be hurt from that shadow grabbing her, but that was a small comfort. They were following them, he knew, and gaining fast.

They skidded to a halt as they reached the edge of a cliff he was half sure shouldn’t be there, and he realised his plan was most certainly not going to work. There was just no time. Instead he drew what he could from the rings into himself; he could make it work, but on such short notice, he couldn’t free both of them. At least not without burning out their minds. It would have to be one of them. His first instinct was to use the spell on himself and coming back for Nell after, but he had no idea he would be able to come back at all.

Could he be able to live with himself if he damned her to whatever those shadows would do to her, when he had been the one to put them in this situation in the first place, even if accidentally?

As the shadows got closer, he took a deep steadying breath. He gathered all his power into one hand and cradled Nell’s cheek with the other one, turning her face up to his. “Nell, I am so very sorry,” he said earnestly, “I never meant for this to happen. Forgive me.”

Before she could question what he was talking about, he leaned down and crashed his lips to hers. As she responded after a second’s hesitation, he clenched his other hand into a fist, unleashing all the power within and weaving together his spell.

****

Nell woke with a jolt and tried to inhale, to find she couldn’t. It took her a moment of panic to realise that the reason was the tube down her throat, which then led to her panicking _ because _ there was a tube down her throat. She flailed until a woman and a man she didn’t know approached her, the man holding her down and the woman saying something she couldn’t understand in her disorientation. She felt the sharp prick of a needle and slowly her consciousness slipped away again.

When she awoke again, the tube in her throat was gone and there was a breathing tube in her nose in its stead. She turned her head with a soft groan and took in the room she was in; it was the sterile white she associated with hospitals, but there were no windows, which was concerning. Slowly she managed to pull herself into a sitting position, her muscles protesting every step of the way, as though they hadn’t moved in a while. Looking down at herself, she saw she was wearing a hospital gown and there was an IV line attached to her arm. She pulled the breathing tube out, not really needing it, swung her legs off the edge of the bed, and carefully got to her feet with the help of the IV stand, though she had to hold onto the bed as her knees buckled under her.

When she was sure she could stand, she pulled off the electrodes attached to her, causing the machine to which they were connected to flatline, and took an experimental step forward. It was shaky and slow going, but she managed to get halfway to the door before it burst open, a nurse and her mother rushing in. The nurse immediately began trying to herd her back to bed, while her mother stood in staring at her shock, her hands over her mouth and tears in her eyes. Finally she could stand still no longer and all but launched herself at Nell, to the nurse’s surprise.

“Ay, mi bebé,” her mother sobbed, crushing her into a fierce hug.

Nell could hardly believe it, seeing her mother again after so long, at least from her perspective. A soft cry escaped her lips and she hugged her mother back just as tightly with a shaky, “Mami.”

The nurse succeeded after a while to force her back to the bed, shutting down the heart monitor and stepping out of the room to look for a doctor, leaving Nell and her mother alone. Her mother filled her in on what she knew; she had been dropping off her sister at a friend’s and never came back home due to some kind of accident – which she knew was Loki running into her and what she assumed was a spell gone wrong – that left her in a coma. The doctors were still trying to figure out what had happened when SHIELD swooped in and took her to the facility they were in now, along with Loki, to keep an eye on them and try to find a way to fix whatever Loki had done. She was surprised to find out they’d been out for a little over a year and a half, same as the time that had passed in… well, wherever it was that her and Loki’s minds had been.

She had been about to ask where Loki was, if he had awoken, when a doctor came into the room followed by who she recognised from tv as Thor, though the god looked as though he hadn’t slept in days. A quick check up to determine she was in good health later, the Thunderer asked to speak with Nell, prompting the doctor to leave and her mother to eye him somewhat suspiciously before giving her another hug and following.

For a moment it was as though Thor was unsure where to begin, then he cleared his throat softly. “I cannot begin to express my regrets at your involvement in this mess.”

“Is Loki okay?” was the first thing Nell could think to say, earning a surprised blink.

“You know my brother?”

“After about eight months, I sure hope so.” The mix of surprise and confusion on Thor’s face would probably have been amusing if she weren’t so worried. “Do you know what happened to us?”

Thor shook his head a bit. “Loki was attempting to escape through a portal. Likely he miscalculated, and ran into you; I believe the spell he cast collapsed, which led to your coma. Portals are, to my understanding, delicate things.”

“We were in… well it was like Earth, but empty. I ran into him eight months ago, and we kinda just stuck together. There was no one else.”

“I see,” Thor mused as he mulled the information over. “Given that your first concern is to ask after his well being, I assume you grew close in that time?” At the blush that crept across her face, he nodded. “I see…” he repeated, not entirely sure how to feel about that. “He is… well, I am not exactly certain. There was a surge of seidr coming from him, but when we approached, it pushed us away, likely instinctually. It has calmed, and I thought that perhaps he would wake, but he has not. I… I am not certain he will.”

Nell swallowed at that. He had apologised. Right before he kissed her, he had apologised, and then she awoke. But why hadn’t he? “Can I… can I see him?”

Thor thought for a moment then nodded, offering his arm to help her, as her legs were still a little unsteady. She had to reassure her mother about a hundred times that she was alright, but eventually they were on their way, passing people she assumed were SHIELD employees. She figured they had reached the right room when she saw Captain America standing outside it, along with a serious looking red-haired woman she was pretty sure was the Black Widow, who eyed them questioningly. The two followed her and Thor into the room, where Nell stopped in her tracks with a distressed gasp as her eyes fell on Loki, unconscious on the bed with various medical equipment attached to him. She forced her feet to move forward, though Thor stopped her before she could get too close, still wary of the seidr radiating off his brother.

Steve was the first to speak up. “Thor? What’s going on? Why’d you bring her here?”

“It seems we did not have all the information,” Thor explained, leading Nell to a chair close by, “They know each other.”

“What do you mean, they know each other?” Natasha asked, “Why would Loki know a kid?”

“Hey, I’m not a kid!” Nell protested, getting their attention.

“You’re eighteen.”

“Almost nineteen.”

Natasha simply raised an eyebrow then looked back to Thor. “Well?”

“I believe their minds were connected, this entire time. Whatever went wrong with Loki’s spell must have bound them. They were unconscious here, but…” he looked down at Nell, “You said you were in a place like Midgard?”

Nell nodded. “It was this planet, but there weren’t any people. It was just the two of us.” She frowned, “Well, there was a bear a few months ago. That was… weird.”

“Could he have done it on purpose?” Natasha asked Thor, who shook his head.

“Loki would not leave himself so vulnerable. Until three hours ago, there was no sign whatsoever that he was in any way capable of defending himself.”

“So, it was an accident,” Steve spoke up, “But why the surge now, why did she wake up, and why hasn’t _ he?” _

Nobody said anything for a moment, not really sure what the answers to those questions were, then Nell looked at Loki. “… I think he woke me up.”

“What do you mean?”

“We were… We didn’t know what happened; we were looking for these deposits of energy to power this device Loki had, so he could try to contact Asgard, see if that might get us some answers. Then a few weeks ago, I started seeing these… shadow people. Just one at first. They didn’t really do much, just stand there. But then, before I woke up, there were a lot of them, coming after us. Loki tried to keep them away but nothing was working.” She shuddered at the memory. “Then before I woke up, he apologised to me. He said he ‘never meant for this to happen’, and then he did something and I woke up.”

The others exchanged a look. “The surge?” Steve guessed.

“Most likely,” Thor nodded.

Nell looked up, tears in her eyes. “Why didn’t he wake up? Why just me?”

There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment, before Natasha spoke up. “Maybe he will, later? We don’t really know what exactly it was that he did.”

Thor cleared his throat. “I should return you to your room.”

“No, I wanna stay. Just for a while?” Nell pleaded.

“I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to be here at all,” Steve countered somewhat reluctantly.

Nell wanted to argue, but realised she was rather outnumbered and dropped her head in resignation. She stood from the chair and made her way to Loki, despite Thor’s half-hearted protests, then leaned over him and pressed a kiss to his temple.

As she pulled away, Loki’s eyes shot open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I did just do that. XD


	5. Chapter 5

When the light cleared away, Loki was alone at the cliff’s edge. He swallowed thickly, exhaustion causing him to slump down to sit on the ground. He took in a deep breath and let it out shakily.

He was all alone now, unless the shadows returned.

He would miss Nell, he knew, but he had no regrets. She didn’t deserve to be trapped here with him. She had a life, family, an entire future to look forward to, and he had nothing left. It was for the best.

He looked out at the view afforded by the cliff and tried not to let the weight of his sudden solitude overwhelm him. When he felt he could stand again, he made his way back to the woods, glad it was even still there, and looked through the packs they had dropped in their haste to outrun the shadows. Inside a pocket of Nell’s was a photograph of her and her siblings at the park; he stared at it for a long while, until his eyes clouded over. He put the heels of his palms against his eyes and pressed down until colours burst behind his eyelids, then took a deep breath and stood up. It didn’t really matter what direction he went in, so he picked one and started walking, not wanting to stay there.

He’d been walking for a few hours, when he noticed a shadow out of the corner of his eye. It sat on a fallen log, facing him. He noticed three others near it, but they were paying him no mind. Slowly the shadow stood and began walking towards him. “So be it, then,” he murmured, squaring his shoulders and waiting for it to reach him.

He felt a surge of energy course through him at its touch, almost like –

****

He choked on the tubing down his throat, and for one frantic moment his thoughts cast him back to five years ago before they caught up to where he actually was. This was _ Midgard, _ not… _ there. _ His eyes fell on Thor and his human friends, and he forced seidr out of himself to push them back and keep them back as he dealt with the foreign objects attached to him; he grabbed hold of the tubes and, bracing himself and holding back the urge to throw up, pulled them right out unheeding to any potential damage that might cause. He pulled out the IV and removed the electrodes, tossing them aside uncaringly, then swung off the side of the bed… and promptly fell to his knees, avoiding face-planting on the floor only by the hand that instinctively grabbed the side of the bed.

Immediately Nell was kneeling before him, hands on his shoulders, even as her mind caught up to the fact that _ he was awake. _ “Loki! Are you okay??”

His barrier failed, not that he had expected it to last in his current state, and the Avengers wasted no time in rushing towards them. With a longing look at her, Loki pushed her back and forced his seidr to twist the space around him, teleporting him away. For a moment after he was gone no one moved, then Steve and Natasha rushed out of the room to raise the alert. Thor watched sadly as Nell’s expression shifted from one of shock to heartbreak, then walked over to help her to her feet.

“He left me,” she said, sounding quite small.

“It is for the best. He is not someone you should be involved with; it would never end well.” He guided her to the door. “Come; I am sure you wish to see your family.”

The thought of seeing her parents and her siblings again after so long spurred her forward, even as her mind tried to accept that Loki had simply abandoned her without hesitation. She was sure he had a good reason. He had to.

Right?

The doctors did several tests on her to make sure she really was alright, then she had to sign some papers regarding not speaking of anything she saw there (which honestly wasn’t much, even if she had actually cared), but then she was free to go home. As soon as they saw her, her father and siblings hugged her as tightly as her mother had, her sister apologising over and over, having blamed herself for everything despite being repeatedly told it hadn’t been her fault. Before the whole incident, Nell might have been a bit annoyed at being so crowded, but right then she was just happy to be _ home. _

As she lay in her bed that night, her sister curled up to her with her head on Nell’s chest, her thoughts drifted back to Loki, wondering where he was now and if he was alright. She had been angry and hurt by his leaving at first, but then thought that maybe he just hadn’t been able to take her with him. He couldn’t even stand, for goodness sake, and Thor had said that portals were delicate magic. Given what happened the _ last _ time it had gone wrong, it made sense he wouldn’t want to risk it again. And while she didn’t have the whole story, it was pretty clear Loki hadn’t exactly been a guest there, given his first priority was to escape. She just wished she’d been able to say goodbye.

The next few weeks passed in a bit of a hectic blur; Nell was swamped with catching up on school, having missed half her junior year and all of her senior year, and she almost began to miss the coma. Almost. She had managed to escape to the nearest park with her sister – who pretty much refused to leave her side whenever she wasn’t in school – to get some fresh air, when she began to feel like she was being watched. At first she tried to dismiss it, the therapist SHIELD had put her in contact with had warned her it would take time to move past such things as much as she ever would, but the feeling persisted. What was more, her sister mentioned having a weird feeling.

She was about to suggest they go home, when she spotted him some eight feet away behind some trees. He looked absolutely _ nothing _ like Loki, but just _ knew _ it was him. She could feel it, though it didn’t occur to her to wonder why. She hesitated for all of two seconds before she was running to him, much to her sister’s surprise, and throwing her arms around his neck. He was just as surprised, as evidenced by his glamour flickering before he dropped it altogether, but soon enough he returned her embrace, burying his face in her hair.

“Nella?” her sister called confusedly as she approached them.

Nell pulled away and turned to her sister, face slightly red, and cleared her throat. “Um, right, ah… Loki, this is my little sister, Sofia; Fia, this is Loki.”

Loki nodded in greeting to the girl, who greatly resembled her sister save that her eyes were more of a greener hazel, while Sofia regarded him suspiciously before looking back at her sister. “You mean the guy who put you in a coma?”

Nell winced a bit. “Accidentally, Fia; _ accidentally. _ But, yes, technically.”

“He is also deeply sorry about that,” Loki added, “More than words can express.”

Sofia narrowed her eyes at him for a moment longer then shrugged. “Well, you did wake her up again, so I guess you’re alright.”

Nell let out a snort and Loki fought a smile. “I am… honoured to have such approval.”

“What are you doing here, though; aren’t people looking to arrest you?”

Nell turned to him. “That’s a very good question.”

“I meant to stay in hiding for a time longer, but I…” he looked away, “Well, I suppose I could no longer resist finding out if you hated me as much as you should for my leaving.”

“I don’t hate you at all,” Nell countered immediately, causing him to look back at her, “I mean, I’m not too happy that you left without a word, but I don’t hate you.”

“And I am sorry about that. I could not take us both, and I didn’t wish to risk you by letting them know I had any kind of attachment to you.”

“I don’t think they would’ve put me in any danger,” Nell countered.

He didn’t look as sure about that. “Perhaps not, or at least not intentionally, but they would very much use you as bait to trap me.”

“How do we know they aren’t right now?” Sofia asked, suddenly uneasy, “They’re definitely still keeping an eye on Nella.”

“Oh, they are,” Loki said unconcernedly, “In fact, I expect we will have company very soon.” He held out a hand to each of them with a slight smile. “Shall we take a little trip?”

Nell hesitated for a second, more than a little wary of portals, but ultimately decided to trust him. He looked rested and she rather doubted he would have offered if he wasn’t absolutely sure he could manage. “Oh, what the hell,” she said before placing her hand in his, Sofia following her example.

****

Nell collapsed onto her bed with a tired sigh and many regrets. She should have known better than to accept her roommate’s invitation for ‘a few’ Birthday drinks; a few were usually no less than ten as far as the woman was concerned. Still, she supposed faintly, it wasn’t every day one turned twenty-one. She had almost dozed off when she felt the bed dip and a pair of arms snake around her middle, causing her to smile and let out a happy hum.

“I take it you had fun,” Loki murmured into her ear.

“Maybe a little _ too _ much; I’m going to regret this in the morning.”

“Serves you right,” he scoffed, “You know your friend well enough to know better.”

“If you’re just gonna make fun of me, go away,” she groaned, elbowing his ribs, earning a soft laugh. She pulled away enough to turn over to face him and smiled. “Hi.”

“Hi,” he grinned, leaning in for a kiss she eagerly returned. “And how has your week been?”

“Ugh, _ long.” _ She leaned up to kiss him again. “I missed you.”

“I’m flattered,” he joked, earning an eyeroll. He kissed her again, murmuring against her lips, “Happy Birthday, my love.”

“Well, it is now.”

“Now you are definitely stroking my ego.”

He chuckled at her expected snort then kissed her again, following her whenever she moved to pull away until she was lying on her back with him on top. She pushed at him when the need for air became critical, and he instead moved his lips to her neck, making her squirm and let out an embarrassed squeak he laughed at. He loved how flustered she still got whenever he did anything like that, which she well knew, not that she could really help it.

Deciding not to torment her too much that night, he stopped and moved up again, pecking her lips one last time before shifting his weight onto his forearms so as not to crush her. “Have they figured it out yet?”

“Well, Agent Romanoff _ definitely _ knows, and I think Thor does, if his constantly asking how I’m doing is any indication. Don’t really know about the rest, though, I’m not sure they even remember who I am.”

He rolled his eyes at Thor’s lack of subtlety, not really surprised by it. “Has the spy given you any trouble?”

“Nah, she kinda just hangs around Dr. Pruit’s waiting room, like she’s expecting you to show up there or something.” That got an amused snort. “I mean, I told her she’s wasting her time, but she clearly did not believe me.” She ran her hands up his sides and chest, earning a slight shiver she smiled at, and laced her fingers behind his neck. “So; what have you been up to since last I saw you, hm?”

“Plotting world domination, what else?” he replied easily, earning a laugh. “I have been working on your gift.”

“Oooh, what gift?”

He moved off her and sat up, prompting her to do the same, and took one of her hands in his. “You have been very patient with my admittedly sporadic visits these past four years, for which I am eternally grateful.”

“Well, it’s not like you can help it,” she reasoned, “What with the whole ‘wanted on two different worlds’ thing.”

“Which I am working on, at least as far as Midgard is concerned. That is besides the point.”

“Which is?” Before he could respond, she jolted a bit. “Shit, Odin hasn’t found out where you are, has he?”

“No, he has not, and will not any time soon. It is not as though I haven’t been hiding from him for years, Nell; I know what I am doing.”

She sagged with relief. “Oh, ok. What was the point, then?”

“If you cease interrupting me, I can get to it.”

“Sorry,” she stifled a giggle. “Continue.”

“The point is, all this sneaking around has become rather tiresome,” he turned her hand palm up and placed a small black box on it, causing her eyes to widen in shock, “What say you we put an end to it?”

“Is this what I think it is?” she asked shakily.

“Well, there is one very easy way to find out…”

She breathed a laugh then looked at the box again. Slowly, she opened it, letting out a gasp and covering her mouth with her hand; there nestled in velvet was an elaborately forged golden key.

He waited until she looked at him again, taking a steadying breath. “Marianella Román Nieves, my dearest love, beat of my heart; will you do me the immense honour of moving in with me?”

Nell let out a delighted laugh and launched herself at him, toppling them both right off the bed, his quick thinking in cushioning the fall with his seidr the only thing that saved his head from what would have been a rather painful bump. He made to tease her for her enthusiasm, but she crashed her lips upon his and he was only too happy to respond, hands making their way to her hips.

She pulled back what felt like hours later and rested her forehead against his with a wide smile. “Yes; I’ll move in with you.”

He laughed. “I gathered as much.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, that's it! Surprisingly happy ending with this one, I was not expecting that. Yes, I know you probably still have questions, there's still some loose ends, and all that jazz _but!_ I do intend to write more for these two dorks, because I love them and have no self-restraint whatsoever. I can't really promise a date for anything because I have... so many other projects. So many. But it's... it's happening eventually. XD
> 
> Stay tuned for tomorrow's Actual Halloween Fic, which is probably a lot scarier to me than it will be to you, because I am a dumbass who used even more of my own actual fears in it than this one and wrote most of it at night before bed. As you do.


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